A Series of Lessons in Raja Yoga eBook

There is but One Life—­One Life Underlying.
This Life is manifesting through ME, and through every
other shape, form, and thing. I am resting on
the bosom of the Great Ocean of Life, and it is supporting
me, and will carry me safely, though the waves rise
and fall—­though the storms rage and the
tempests roar. I am safe on the Ocean of Life,
and rejoice as I feel the sway of its motion.
Nothing can harm me—­though changes may
come and go, I am Safe. I am One with the All
Life, and its Power, Knowledge, and Peace are behind,
underneath, and within Me. O! One Life!
express Thyself through me—­carry me now
on the crest of the wave, now deep down in the trough
of the ocean—­supported always by Thee—­all
is good to me, as I feel Thy life moving in and through
me. I am Alive, through thy life, and I open
myself to thy full manifestation and inflow.

THE SIXTH LESSON.

CULTIVATION OF PERCEPTION.

Man gains his knowledge of the outside world through
his senses. And, consequently, many of us are
in the habit of thinking of these senses as if they
did the sensing, instead of being merely carriers of
the vibrations coming from the outside world, which
are then presented to the Mind for examination.
We shall speak of this at greater length a little
later on in this lesson. Just now we wish to impress
upon you the fact that it is the Mind that perceives,
not the senses. And, consequently, a development
of Perception is really a development of the Mind.

The Yogis put their students through a very arduous
course of practice and exercises designed to develop
their powers of perception. To many this would
appear to be merely a development of the Senses, which
might appear odd in view of the fact that the Yogis
are constantly preaching the folly of being governed
and ruled by the senses. But there is nothing
paradoxical about all this, for the Yogis, while preaching
the folly of sense life, and manifesting the teaching
in their lives, nevertheless believe in any and all
exercises calculated to “sharpen” the Mind,
and develop it to a keen state and condition.

They see a great difference between having a sharpened
perception, on the one hand, and being a slave to
the senses on the other. For instance, what would
be thought of a man who objected to acquiring a keen
eyesight, for fear it would lead him away from higher
things, by reason of his becoming attached to the
beautiful things he might see. To realize the
folly of this idea, one may look at its logical conclusion,
which would be that one would then be much better
off if all their senses were destroyed. The absurdity,
not to say wickedness, of such an idea will be apparent
to everyone, after a minute’s consideration.